The entire labor pyramid of the company passes through lack of relevant skillswith talent development needs such as adaptability to change, innovative thinking, creativity, negotiation skills, as well as emotional intelligence, both in high-level and middle managers, which are more intense for companies that do not want to be late in the era 4th industrial revolution.

Representatives of the business world, as well as the academic world, speak of the lack of social skills among university graduates, as well as their already high-ranking leaders, with particular emphasis on reduced communication skills and project management abilities.

This problem is not limited to our country, it is one of the biggest problems in the whole world. Soft skills are what help business executives and recruiters distinguish the right employees or candidates from the ideal employees or candidates.

This is why, in most competitive labor markets, recruitment criteria are not limited to having complex skills (technical skills) and specialized knowledge beyond a degree. Recruiters – managers are looking for people who can become leaders and take every business one step further, since leadership itself is based on soft skills.

Recruiters are looking for people who can take the business to the next level.

Deficits in this critical area of ​​personal skills are highlighted by all of his research. BSE, as it has been established that in addition to the increased needs in the professions of technical, secondary and technological specialization, there is a particularly great need for leaders with soft skills, such as leadership, communication skills, and strategic thinking. According to the BSE, such skills cannot be acquired within the traditional general education model. Continuing education and the workplace are the main areas in which interpersonal skills can be developed.

Enterprises should become more involved by systematically investing in the development of their management staff. In fact, the Association has long established that although it is not easy to separate by profession, but the horizontal lack of soft skills (soft skills) mainly in top management is noticeable and should be addressed immediately by the companies themselves.

As he explainedtalking to “K” General Director of TSB, Dr. Giorgos Hirogiannis, digital transformation, international supply chain shocks, the green transition and demographic aging are bringing tectonic changes to the world of work. And the professions of 2030 may be based on next generation technologies, but empowering human capital with knowledge in topics such as strategic thinking, change management, team management, negotiation skills, innovation management is an integral part of the BSE strategy.

In fact, Mr. Xyrogiannis acknowledges that much of this knowledge is not acquired today in the context of a general academic education. In this context, after all, BSE initiatives such as Together with Knowledge, Skills4Jobs, Export Ready Master, IBEPE technical programs, Industry 4.0 roundtables and scaling workshops, which strengthen the competitiveness of the economy, but also the development of employees. In this way, according to the BSE CEO, businesses can get ideas by taking bolder and more ambitious actions to address the quantitative and qualitative shortage of human capital. “Perhaps this is the biggest challenge on the road to 2030,” concludes Mr. Xirogiannis.

As established by a series of studies, knowledge about human capital needs to be constantly expanded and adapted to business needs, especially in the face of rapid technological development, but also demographic decline, which leads to a sharp reduction in the human resources of enterprises. . This means that workers must enrich, update and improve their knowledge, skills and qualifications throughout their working lives. Moreover, it has been proven that employees who do not find opportunities for learning and professional development in the company they work for often move on to find another employer, which comes at a significant cost to companies. According to a Gallup survey, the cost of replacing one worker can be anywhere from 1.5 to 2 of their annual salary. In practice, this means a radical rethinking of how businesses help workers acquire the skills they need to be successful and efficient.

4.2%

percent participation of employees in professional development programs (Eurostat, 2021 data).

17.8%

percent offering training opportunities from businesses to employees (EU share 67.4%, according to Eurostat).

2

only hours of participation in professional development programs per employee in 2020, while in 2015 they corresponded to 5.2 hours. In the enterprises of the information and communication and financial sectors, the reduction is large – 5.6 from 27.9 hours.

Continuing education in management and new knowledge is one of the ways

With the aim of acquiring modern knowledge and management skills for the leaders of member companies, the BSE has begun to forge a “strong alliance” with the ALBA Graduate School of Business, providing them with free access to modern programs for developing professional knowledge and managerial skills. and thereby strengthening their prospects for professional development. “Together with Knowledge” is addressed to professionals and managers at all levels involved in the BSE business, regardless of size or industry. The focus is on the development of modern skills such as negotiation skills, strategic thinking, innovation and the use of digital technologies that are not acquired during an academic education.

It should be noted that the BSE has registered the needs of its members in the professions so that the ALBA can then meet these needs academically, so that on the one hand they have a direct and permanent impact on the administrative, organizational and strategic abilities of the leaders, and on the other hand, capital of knowledge acquired to create business value.

Managers get the opportunity to instantly apply advanced knowledge and skills.

And indeed, talking to “K” Human Resources Specialist – Executive Assistant to the General Director of Mapei Hellas, Sofia Angelides, notes that the innovations introduced in the company by the marketing director who participated in one of these programs were immediately applicable. “We have seen change from the first moment he was able to transform what he was taught to suit the needs of the company. He gained knowledge, brainstormed with other market leaders, saw how other businesses operate, and applied everything that could be applied to our business,” he says. In addition to this, for some new ideas that could not be implemented immediately, he implemented a new plan for the future and built a new company strategy on it.

It characterizes as a key investment in the future with their statements on “K” developing new skills, new business knowledge, and updating existing knowledge, Dean of the ALBA Graduate School of Business, American College of Greece, Dr. Kostas Aksarloglu. In addition, continuing education in management and business administration, as well as the development of modern horizontal skills and attitudes, are a key element of the “Together with Knowledge” learning ecosystem created by BSE in conjunction with ALBA. And this is because, in practice, leaders get the opportunity to immediately apply cutting-edge knowledge and skills so that they can successfully meet new business challenges and jointly create value for society and the business community.

In the same context, the human resources department of ELBIAL, Stella Brozuwho herself participated in the program along with several company executives, points to “K” that the topics of the program are targeted and change depending on the real needs of the market. Since the goal of ELBIAL was to empower middle managers in the field of social skills, the results both at the theoretical and, above all, at the practical level were immediately visible and helped both at the individual and at the team level.

Center of Excellence and Scholarships

Through BSE’s “Together with Knowledge” action, 1,500 employees have so far improved the knowledge, offered 50 postgraduate fellowships, and the Center of Excellence has instilled innovative leadership styles in 760 senior and senior executives. In detail, the actions are structured along four axes:

• Courses to expand administrative knowledge. Courses with a total duration of 300 hours are offered each year in subject areas such as: data science, decision systems, risk management, management and leadership in the digital age, Agile and SCRUM methodologies, effective sales, transition and growth of small and medium businesses.

• A flagship Women in Leadership program exclusively for women in positions of responsibility to help them expand their knowledge of effective business leadership in today’s era.

• Scholarships for leaders of BSE members. Each year, BSE funds 50% of the tuition fees for 10 supervisors in ALBA’s postgraduate programs. The programs cover a wide range of studies such as business management, finance, export management, human resource management, marketing, etc.

• Operation of the BSE Center of Excellence for Creative Leadership. The purpose of the center is to promote the production and dissemination of innovative knowledge.